Free Republic

Bulldog lawyer Michael Avenatti has lost his bark. The once-famous attorney wept Thursday before being sentenced to two years and six months for trying to shake down Nike for more than $20 million.

Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley said Wednesday that he didn't swindle taxpayers by having the state buy him two luxury vehicles in two years. Wooley characterized the controversy as "a pimple on a bee's ass." He made his first public comments on the controversy outside a committee room at the State Capitol, where a panel of lawmakers rapidly reviewed his department's $28.1 million budget proposal for the upcoming year. The budget didn't draw any questions from the House Appropriations Committee. The committee's chairman, Rep. John Alario, D-Westwego, attributed the speediness to the fact that the department relies on fees and self-generated...

Americans who value the Constitution should stand with Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., and oppose George Bush's attempted power grab in conjunction with establishing a Department of Homeland Security. The Bushies are trying to frame the debate as either protecting bureaucracy or providing security for Americans. In fact, the debate is about preventing an authoritarian president from sacrificing the Constitution in the name of providing security. Let me remind you that those who prefer security to freedom will lose both. Bush wants to be able to disregard labor contracts and civil-service rules, as well as move money within the department as...